


Sunshine

by Rinoa11



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Magic-Users, Magical Creatures, The city lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 15:52:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11188392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinoa11/pseuds/Rinoa11
Summary: Yuri delivers spells and potions for his grandfather day in, day out through a living breathing city where hidden in cracks and behind lamp posts magical creatures and faeries thrive.When the Midsummer festivities arrive Yuri wants to go to the party of the season for the first time in his life. At eighteen years old, surely he's old enough?What he does not know is that going to the party will change his life. For better or for worse.





	Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts), [Crollalanza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/gifts).



> This is a VERY LATE birthday present for my dear friends Noemi and Carole. I hope you enjoy it.

Yuri did his best not to stare at the older man’s goat legs as he turned away from him to look for payment, a little tufty tail waggling at him from just under the hem of his shirt. No matter how many deliveries he brought to Yakov, there was always a sense of curiosity and wonder regarding his fuzzy lower half and hooved feet. He was certain that if he flipped the man’s hat off his head, there would probably be a pair of tiny horns underneath.

“Now this is for your grandfather and this is for your trouble,” the satyr grumbled in thickly accented English, shoving two plastic bags at Yuri. The one that smelled like food was for him and the heavy bag that clicked and jangled was for his grandfather. He carefully tucked both into his leopard print backpack. “Tell him that I’m out of the neighbourhood next month so I don’t need anything.”

Although he was tempted to try and find out where Yakov would be (he guessed it would be trying to get back with his nymph ex-wife), he didn’t want to be kicked with those tiny hooves, replying with an, “Understood. Anything else, old man?”

“Be careful on your way home boy, there’s a shift in the air. I don’t like it…”

Yuri nodded and gave Yakov the thumbs up as he slipped on his headphones and skated away from the old brick apartment in the middle of a neighbourhood that looked like it was half reclaimed by the forest and half covered in strange graffiti. He looked down at his phone, checking the map, debating the route to take and switched to a song with an intense beat as he kicked himself into gear and sped up, keeping his eyes open for anything unusual and his focus on the heartbeat of the city.

Twilight blanketed the city in a strange light as Yuri skated as fast as he could, swerving around buildings and lamp posts, jumping over cracks in the concrete with unnecessary style. The air was heavy, it smelled like the heavens would open at any moment to unleash a torrent of rain upon the grey ground. Except the smell was tinged with an uncanny spark. Yuri knew that this would not be any ordinary rain storm. It was magical in origin and it would probably ruin his hair and his favourite hoodie and Yuri was having fuck all to do with that. He needed to return to his grandfather before the sun set lest the old man complain until he set himself off on one of his horrendous coughing fits. A shortcut home would be necessary.

On the corner of the avenue connecting this neighbourhood to the next he spotted what he was looking for. A grey and white cat sitting, waiting for him sheltered under a tree. He grinned as he braked to a stop, kneeling to pet the cat, allowing the fuzzy creature to purr and weave around his feet and hand, twisting like a fluid stream. This cat would help him get home with no bother. He waited until the cat was finished greeting him and had run ahead a little before beginning to skate again, keeping his eyes on the cat at all times.

Together they journeyed through the most dangerous part of his delivery route, behind a lamp post and away from the heavy sparkling rain, into the Greenwood. The heartbeat of the city fell quiet to his ears. If Grandpa knew he went through the forested routes of the city instead of sticking to the safer concrete and brick ways meant for humans he would probably have a heart attack, but Yuri was confident in his navigational skills and knew that he would be okay, as long as he kept his eyes on the cat and didn’t wander off into the forest alone.

The cat turned a corner and stood to sit, licking its paw daintily as Yuri grabbed the tree stump to twist himself around past the cat and out of the Greenwood through a crack in the wall a block away from his home.

From there he headed towards the subway steps and descended. Usually you would think that there would be people heading upwards in the opposite direction to leave. That there would be announcements telling commuters that the subway was closing for the night but not at this station. This was a station no longer in use. Yuri slid down the bannister side saddle so he wouldn’t damage his skates or break his neck if he tripped on a pesky crack in the worn concrete. At the bottom he leaped over the ticket barriers like a gazelle and jumped onto the tracks.

Rolling up to his home hidden on the side of the tunnel, he fished in his bag for an entire ring of iron keys with a fuzzy cat keychain on them. He drew them out of his bag and unlocked the door, meticulously undoing the locks with a series of clicks and clangs to let himself into the shack.

It was like a cave. A cosy cave that was hidden in an abandoned subway station. When he asked his grandpa he was told that it got overgrown with deep magic because the idiots in the council built it over a powerful layline. It was only a matter of time before the magic of the city decided that she had had enough of iron trains zooming up and down her bloodline with stinky humans, clearing them out to go find another place for a subway that wasn’t so uncomfortable for her.

But that didn’t stop Grandpa from making his home here. He called the city his darling, if he looked after her she would look after him and that was all there was to it.

“Hey Gramps! I’m home!” he called into the cozy shack, filled to the brim with every curiosity and trinket it seemed. Yuri stripped out of his wet hoodie before he hunted for his grandfather in the mess. He peered over the piles of books and papers, he looked through the bottles filled with concoctions and gently moved boxes and bags to the side as he roamed deeper into the area that was his Grandfather’s workshop.

“Oh hello Yurochtka! I’m glad you’re here! Hold this for me would you?” he beamed as he shoved a jar of swamp goo his way, causing his nose to wrinkle. Yuri’s grandpa was an old man who looked shorter than he was thanks to constantly being hunched over in work. His hands were gnarled but kind from the years of spell and charm making. It was kindness that made his cooking taste so good.

Ever since he was a small child, despite never knowing who his real parents were, he was lucky to have been taken in by a man he calls his Grandpa. He doesn’t remember much about his days before then as now it was replaced by the warmth they had created together. They lived together as a makeshift family in a homely shack under the north bridge station of the city. His Grandpa was a great wizard, frequently cooking up charms and spells and pirozhki for the humans, creatures and fae of this concrete jungle. Yuri’s job was to deliver the goods. It was a dangerous one but his Grandfather had many friends that made the job easier for a small human like him.

His grandfather hummed as he measured the goo from the jar Yuri was holding and mixed it into a bowl with goodness knows what else. “How’s Yakov doing this month?”

“Same as ever… Grumpy old goat. Gonna be out of town next month. I think he’s gonna beg his ex-wife to take him back again.”

His Grandfather let out a hearty “HAH!” at that as he took the pot of goo back from Yuri. “Oh that’ll be the day Yura! Thanks for your help. Dinner’s in the fridge.”

Yuri nodded and rummaged through his bag bringing out the two bags that Yakov gave him and handed them over. Grandpa then set them down on the table removing the contents of each, a grin breaking out onto his face. A bottle of vodka for him (clearly the good shit given by the way his eyes sparkled) and some Tupperware filled with borscht for Yuri with a note taped to the lid reading “ _Get some meat on your bones kid!”_  Yakov made a good borscht. Tonight would be a good night for food.

The dishes were set, the food was heated and the drinks were poured and the pair of them settled down at the kitchen table to eat after a hard day’s work. The piping hot food warmed his bones. Yuri considered his next words carefully.

Every midsummer there was a big party held at the centre of the city. Night markets and parties popped up to all over to celebrate the peak of the summer. The citizens both magical and non-magical would spend the night dancing the night away under the fairy light. It was a dangerous time. It was a thrilling time. It was pure magic. Tonight’s unusual rain shower was a precursor to that and things would only get stranger until next week. Yuri spent each year inside, avoiding the festivities of the city under his grandfather’s direction, but he was eighteen now. Surely this year he would be old enough to go out and enjoy the sights the city had to offer him? He wanted to do experience the music that he only heard echoes of through the tunnel in person. Mila gloated each year that it was a blast and he just wanted to see what it was like… just once.

“Grandpa… can I go out for the midsummer festivities this year? Mila asked if I could go with her.”

Grandpa scrunched his face up like he ate something sour. “Why? It’s just the faerie courts causing havoc. It’s not safe for you Yura. Thank Mila but tell her you can’t go.”

Yuri let out a huge sigh as he placed down his fork on the plate, locking eyes with his Grandpa. “Please. I’ll be careful. I’ll be with Mila and Georgi. We won’t go near the faerie glamour. Please just this once. I really want to go.”

“Yura… Listen to me. It is not safe. I am no spring chicken. I know what these festivals are like. They are chaos and wild magic…”

“But!” Yuri stood and bristled like a cat as his grandfather raised a hand to silence him before he could continue.

“But nothing Yuri, you’re not going! It is not safe. I forbid it.” He knew by the way that the older man did not quite meet his eyes head on that he wasn’t telling the entire truth. It was so stupid of him to say no. There was no good reason for him to refuse. Unless there was another reason? But it couldn’t be a good one. So he pushed further.

“Grandpa I said that I would be careful! I’ve been fine on deliveries! It wouldn’t cost you anything! Please!”

“You could get lost in the glamour! It could cost you your life! You are staying here!”

Yuri slammed his hands on the table in frustration. “But I’m eighteen now! I’m not a kid any more old man!”

His grandfather stood and looked him in the eyes, voice booming so loud and strong with magic that it shook the room.

“You’re a kid if you argue like that!” He sighed and closed his eyes running a hand through his beard as he grumbled, “I’m off to bed. You can clean up,” while waving off any further arguments before retreating into his bedroom, cutting off any opportunity for Yuri to further argue with him.

Yuri stood in silence for a moment, tears prickling his eyes, shaken by his grandfather’s yelling before his frustration boiled down. He seethed as he scrubbed the food off the dishes and put them away. As much as he would like to smash the cups and the plates, that would get him nowhere and it would upset Grandpa. He didn’t like to upset the man no matter how unreasonable he was being. He sighed and slunk into his room, pulling out his phone to text Mila.

**ME: Gramps said no to the party. Can’t go.**

**OLD BABA: Whaaaaat? Fuck that come out anyway! If he’s buried in his den like usual, it won’t be hard to sneak out ;)**

**ME: MB… I’ll think about it.**

He lay back on his bed after hanging his now damp hoodie up to dry and plugged himself into music to drown out the sounds of the rain trickling down through the subway. Grandpa’s charms stopped the place from smelling like dead rat and kept the trolls away. His feet ached from skating, he swore he could feel a new blister forming but he ignored the pain and scrolled through his Instagram feed, enviously browsing the previews of looks that everyone else would be wearing at Midsummer. All of the glitter, the gowns, the countdowns and the makeup tutorials made him want to cry. It just wasn’t fucking fair! But if he wanted to go he would be sneaky. He lay back and closed his eyes plotting for how he was going to do this.

So Yuri kept his head down for the next couple of days. Instead of further begging his grandpa, he kept his wishes to himself and did his job delivering magic and food throughout the city fuelled by righteous rage at all the people bragging at getting to go without sneaking out. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t preparing his own outfit. With the help of the city cats he found the best clothes and makeup he could afford. He was gonna look so cool in what he picked out with his cat gang. Although he was tempted to snap some pics to invoke envy on Instagram, for once, he kept it to himself. Occasionally he’d get texts from Mila offering him some clothes from her own wardrobe if he would just go. Yuri was tempted, he thought he remembered her having a pair of bitching leather wet look leggings that would look nice with the top he bought but he wasn’t sure if they’d fit. He’d like to try them anyway so he sent her a thumbs up emoji before he continued on his delivery route.

Finally the day came. He tried his best to be completely disinterested in the face of his Grandpa. Whether he believed him or not was up for debate but he hoped he wouldn’t be called out on it. He tried to contain the excitement bubbling beneath his surface, hoping that his Grandpa wouldn’t break the seal causing the feeling to bubble and burst everywhere like shaken up lemonade. He also hoped that he wouldn’t be shaken so hard that he would go flat and fizzle out.

Yuri’s fears were unfounded as Grandpa bade him goodnight and went off to his bed, satisfied that Yuri would not go out tonight. A silent apology would have to do as Yuri snuck out of the shack and made his way down the train tracks and up the stairs with his clothes stuffed in a backpack to skate to Mila’s house in order to be transformed for the night.

She greeted him in a slinky black dressing gown, wearing a facemask that made her look like a swamp monster. If Yuri was a lesser man he might have fled for the hills from this scary baba but he was a fearless delivery man, sending packages and food and spells to the scariest reaches of the city. A face mask would not make him run. Instead he leapt back with a yelp in surprise before Mila sighed and grabbed him by the ear dragging him in.

“Nice to see you too Yura! What a polite boy you are, screaming at a lady,” she purred, dragging Yuri further into her apartment until they reached her boudoir.

“Ahhh! Baba! Let me go! I can walk myself you hag!” Yuri yelled as he spat and flailed like a small kitten seeking out revenge before he was shoved into a pink plush velvet seat. Mila rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue at his insults as she turned away from him to root through her closet and drawers.

“Take your things out of your bag Yura, I need to see what I’m working with here,” Mila drawled as she threw various articles of skin tight black clothing on the bed. Yuri did as he was told and brought out a sparkly black top that would shift off his skin nicely and some golden chains and cuffs. Mila hummed and shifted her weight from side to side as she inspected each article and looked back at Yuri like she was picturing the final result.

“What? Say something, hag!”

“Hang on a second, I’m thinking!”

His cheeks puffed out like a spoiled child as she rummages around in her drawers mumbling to herself about what would go together like a mad artist flourishing paints on a canvas.

“No… No this won't do. Georgi is going to laugh if you wear that… No…”

But finally after having flung almost the entirety of her drawers and her closet on the floor she presents Yuri with her picks. He holds the clothing in his pale hands and tries to play it cool over how damn cool these are.

“Stop having a mini meltdown and just put them on. I wanna see!”

Yuri shoots out of the chair and slips into the closet, shutting the door. It looked for a moment there it seemed that Mila would launch herself at him in excitement and he didn't much fancy being seen naked by someone he considered to be like a sister to him. An annoying older sister. Much older. Like dinosaur era.

When he reappeared all dressed up and ready to go, Mila let out a whoop in satisfaction. “Looking gooooood Yura. God! You’re like a little sex kitten, damn!”

A small blush coated his cheeks as he threw a glare that didn’t really mean much her way. He had to hand it to her, Mila had good styling skills. The way the fluffy black and fuchsia coat gradiated and hung off his frame in a slouchy way to reveal his pale shoulders. The way the black top the cats picked out sparkled like an oil slick, chromatically twinkling in the light. The way the tight leather skinny jeans clung to his legs like they were trying to become part of him, accenting the heeled boots that he couldn’t resist. He knew that for a lesser man the boots could end in tears and a broken ankle, but he was a rollerblading delivery boy. He had the ankle strength.

Mila finished off his look by artfully smearing some makeup, glitter and gloss on his face. She tousled his hair and stood back in satisfaction. Mila didn’t look half bad herself in her off the shoulder maroon gown that corseted and cinched in at the waist to emphasize her hips. A small train of silk and chains hung off the back of the dress, giving it the elegant, edgy vibe that she appreciated.

They were ready to party and after three stops on the subway line, sharing drinks from a flask of something strong that Mila swore by, they reached the festivities in a pleasantly buzzed, merry state.

Yuri did not know what to expect. Not really. He knew the festivities would be crazier and more fantastic than anything he had seen before but he was not expecting for there to be a giant glowing tree in the centre of the city square. He did not expect to be surrounded by floating lanterns that pulsed in time with the music. And what music it was! In the glitter filled air the music hypnotized the dancing crowds. The synth and the bassline weaved seamlessly together with a killer kickline that caused the magical and non-magical to dance together, bodies gyrating in a worshipful  orgy of music and the midsummer. It was perfect.

Of to the sides of the square were gazeboes that logically should not fit in the space, but as Yuri and Mila walked around the edge, exploring the area, peeking inside he could see that those gazeboes held whole nightclubs of their own inside. There were food tents, booze tents, tents where you could purchase glamours and gizmoes to enhance your experience if you wished (Yuri didn’t).

His attention was caught by a familiar voice calling for them. He spotted Georgi at the entrance of one of the gazeboes that held booths for people to sit in and drink. He was dressed in purple with dramatic eye makeup that looked like he had either been punched in the eyes (as annoying as he can be, it’s unlikely) or that he had been crying over his latest squeeze dumping him (much more probable).

Yuri only payed a little attention to Georgi’s crying over Anya as he led them inside to their booth. A place for them to drink, leave their coats and rest their feet if they wished. Yuri didn’t want to do any of those things. He wanted to dance. A melodic whoosh beckoned to him, demanding that he leave the gazebo right this instant to move his body in time with the beat. To meld with it, to become one with the crowd underneath the large and glittering tree.

Twinkly arpeggios undercut the sparkling melody as a woman sung out to the crowd. Magical bubbles rained down from the sky, they turned into glitter as they popped. He paid little attention to anything else as he walked out to the floor. What harm could there be in dancing aside from maybe being sore and achey the next day. Besides, it didn’t take long for Mila and Georgi to join him in twisting and twirling on the dancefloor. Hands raising to the sky in prayer that this glorious music would never end.

It didn’t take long for the trio to be separated, split apart by the tides of dancers. For a time it was fun, he danced and laughed and could see Mila pair off with a beautiful woman with long sleek black hair. He vaguely recognized her from Instagram. He relaxed a little. He saw Georgi get swept off into a dance with a man and a woman he didn’t know but Georgi did have a knack for attracting dramatic moments. There was nothing to worry about. His friends were happy and he could just focus on the dancing. But then something shifted.

Something changed. It felt like Yuri shifted into a different dimension, the Greenwood, but without his feline friends to signal to him, Yuri couldn’t tell for sure. Yuri just knew that somehow things looked _different_ the people he was dancing with seemed even more beautiful _too_ beautiful. He spotted animal heads and tails in the crowd. He could see wings and scales and teeth that were too sharp to be normal. The music had gone from being especially good to almost magically so. He couldn’t feel the city’s heartbeat anymore.

For a single moment Yuri understood what his grandfather was worried about because hands were now on him, not just pawing at him to partner up with him in a dance but seriously grabbing at him like they wanted to take him to pieces in the most delicious way possible. He felt like a marionette being shifted and twirled this way and that, no longer in control of how he was moving in the crowd until he ended up at a gazebo that was even more lavish and ornate than any of the other ones he had seen before. Yuri closed his eyes in an effort to clear his head, to try and bring any semblance of normal reality to his mind but when he opened them the lavish gazebo was still there.

In the centre of the gazebo was a throne. A disgustingly ornate golden throne whereupon none other but the Faerie King of the Summer court sat. Yuri heard his grandfather speak of him once or twice before but it was a rare thing. His grandfather did not like to meddle in the faerie courts and now Yuri understood why. Looking upon the king he could see that he exuded a power that made Yuri almost lose himself. He felt the compulsion to smile and giggle and kneel at this man’s feet overtake him. He knew the King wanted him to crawl into his lap and kiss him sweetly. He could feel the pull. He could feel the false desire, smell it, taste it but he willed himself with every fibre in his being not to. He bit his tongue, he dug his nails into his palms until he felt and tasted blood prickle forth instead.

“Yuri… My Summer bride! Your false grandfather has kept you from me for a long time!” The King called down to him in a silky smarmy voice. “It is alright! We can be together now! I, your soon to be husband JJ, have so graciously plucked you from the bosom of the city herself, from her very heart to claim you as my own as the prophecies intended to join our worlds into one.”

Yuri silently seethed and felt the beginnings of a roar prickle from within. What the fuck was he talking about? His grandfather keeping him? His grandfather being false? Plucked from the heart of the city? What the fuck?!

“My lucky one! I understand that you must be confused but do not worry! You will never have to worry again. No more squalor for you!”

This was a spell it had to be a spell. The king was trying to cast a spell on him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black cat enter the tent. A little bit of courage entered him as the cat locked eyes with him. He would be okay. His feline friends were here. If he played his cards right, he could get out of this mess.

“Shut the fuck up JJ!”

A silence interrupted the merry hum of the tent. There was a pause as JJ looked down at him, his eerily beautiful face twisting into ugly confusion before laughing at him, teeth too sharp flashing at him. The courtiers that surrounded him laughed, joining in, their ethereal faces contorting into hideous shapes and wrinkles. It was nightmarish.

“My darling! I understand that you are-“

Yuri took a deep breath and snarled out with all the rage he held in his body, blood spittling everywhere in hopes of breaking the spell that was trying to make him into a meek and mild simpering thing. “I said SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am not going to be your bride! I am not yours! I refuse! I am leaving right now and you can’t stop me!”

The warm merry atmosphere died a quick death and a coldness entered Yuri as JJ stood, an eyebrow raised. “Well… I didn’t want to resort to this but I had a feeling after watching you for so long that you might not bow so easily, but I like that about you of course my little spitfire,” he said almost mockingly as he clicked his fingers. A curtain that Yuri hadn’t noticed before was moved away and behind the curtain was Yuri’s grandfather in a glass casket asleep.

“Grandpa!” Yuri really did feel like he was going to be sick as he screamed for his grandfather. “You monster! What did I ever do to you?! I don’t even know you for fuck’s sake! Give him back! Give him back now!”

“I will have you Yuri. You were promised to me and I do not take kindly to promises not being kept. If you will not be my bride I will keep your grandfather here asleep for all of time and you will never see him again. And I won’t stop there. Do not push me Yuri” JJ’s voice dropped to a depth that made it feel like a shockwave blast through him, fear crept into his bones.

What was he going to do without Grandpa? If he ran without doing anything he would never know what JJ was alluding to, he would never see his Grandpa again, so many people in the city would suffer without Grandpa’s magic and medicine. No one would eat his delicious food again. Yuri wracked his brains for any and all knowledge he had on fae folk. He knew that they were beautiful, he knew that they were dangerous, he knew that they were possessive and terrible and powerful. He closed his eyes, bawled his hands into fists and tried to think of something and then a voice entered into his mind. It felt like the voice of an old friend, soothing and rich.

_“He likes to play games.”_

Yuri took a deep breath he had to think fast, “I… I… challenge you King JJ of the Summer court!” He met JJ’s eyes as he pointed a finger at him. Out of the corner of his eye the black cat grew to be lion sized. He had to be confident “If I win this challenge you I will be freed from our supposed engagement and I will get my grandfather back and you will not bother us again!”

To his relief instead of getting angry and destroying him like he feared, JJ smiled, his eyes glittering like a child unable to keep his hands out of a jar of candy that was offered to him. “Oh this will make having you even sweeter my love! Yes! The minstrels shall sing all about our courtship! Yes! I accept your challenge! You must bring me a bride even more wonderful and perfect than you! If you can do that in three days, I will let you go.”

As Yuri nodded in agreement the black cat that grew to become a lion rushed to his side and out of the shadows a whole herd of cats swept him off his feet and away from JJ. The Fae folk screamed as the cats swarmed, the large black cat causing the most upset.

 _“He’s here! Who let him in! He was not invited!”_ they screamed but Yuri was still in a daze, the challenge echoing in his mind. Whatever magic that tried to control him vanished and as it did, Yuri felt the sheer exhaustion of the effort of not succumbing take over. His eyes rolled back into his head and unconsciousness took over as the cats ran away with his body. Their feline forms merging and flowing together like a river through the streets of the city, away from the Greenwood and away from the party. Wherever they were taking him, he hoped that they would take him somewhere where he would find a new bride for JJ, for his and his Grandpa’s sake.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's been a wee while since you have seen me! University took over my life but now I'm free!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear what you'd think. It's always exciting going on a new adventure in a new fandom (for me). 
> 
> I'd like to thank Maka (MTrash) and Kat (ShaeraHaek) for being my guinea pigs and encouraging me.
> 
> If you'd like to chat with me I'm Rinoa11 on Twitter and Tumblr. Thank you very much for reading! Have a great day!


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